Cuff making system

ABSTRACT

A system of making shirt cuffs wherein cuff panels are stitched to a continuous strip of lining material to form a continuous strip of substantially contiguous cuff assemblies. Detecting means determines the line between two cuff assemblies and automatically actuates a cuff corner cutter which shapes the corners of the cuff assemblies. A two needle sewing machine and cutter sews together the contiguous ends of the cuff assemblies and cuts the lining between the cuff assemblies to separate the cuff assemblies, and turning means position the cuff assemblies properly for sewing across the shaped corners.

United States Patent [191 Hunter, Jr. et al.

CUFF MAKING SYSTEM Inventors: John P. Hunter, .lr., Dunwoody;

Ross Erle Norton, Dawson; William 0. Mitchell, Vidalia, all of Ga.

Assignee: Oxford Industries, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.

Filed: Apr. 13, 1972 Appl. No.: 243,683

US. Cl 112/121.27, 112/130, 112/262, 112/12l.l5

Int. Cl DOSb 23/00 Field of Search 112/121.27, 262, ll2/12l.26, 121.11, 121.12, 121.15, 121.29, 10, 130, 265, 267, 268, 269; 83/365; 223/2, 37, 38; 2/243 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Campbell 112/l2l.27 X Lewis et al 83/365 X Jan. 115, 1974 693,045 Z/l920 Millhiser et a1 llZ/lO 3,401,655 9/1968 Johnson et a1 ll2/l30 X 3,696,766 10/1972 Glasowetal. 112/121.11 3,710,742 l/l973 Chercass ll2/l2l.27

Primary Examiner-James R. Boler Att0rneyJ0nes, Thomas & Askew [57] ABSTRACT A system of making shirt cuffs wherein cuff panels are stitched to a continuous strip of lining material to form a continuous strip of substantially contiguous cuff assemblies. Detecting means determines the line between two cuff assemblies and automatically actuates a cuff corner cutter which shapes the corners of the cuff assemblies. A two needle sewing machine and cutter sews together the contiguous ends of the cuff assemblies and cuts the lining between the cuff assemblies to separate the cuff assemblies, and turning means position the cuff assemblies properly for sewing across the shaped corners.

3 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAN 15 m4 3,?85 307' sum 1 or d PATENTEUJAN 15 1914 saw 3 W V PATENTEU JAN 35 I974 sum u or F I G FIG '12 CUFF MAKING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the production of shirt cuffs, and is more particularly concerned with an improved method and apparatus for the mass production of shirt cuffs.

In the past, shirt cuffs were made by die-cutting both the shirt cuff panels and lining material in a cutting room, transferring the cut patterns toa sewing room, and manually handling the pattern parts as the sewing steps were performed. This procedure is troublesome because of the necessity for die cutting the lining material, and the machine operators must carefully align the various pieces of each cuff assembly and assure that the pattern parts in each bunch of pattern parts remain in proper sequence as they are assembled to coordinate the cuff assemblies with the other shirt pattern parts.

Many of these problems were solved by a procedure of placing the cut cuff pattern parts along a continuous strip of lining material and automatically stitching of the cuff pattern parts into place on the continuous lining material to form a continuous-series of cuff assemblies, as disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,670,679. After this step, however, a relatively skilled operator is required to first perform the unskilled job of placing the continuous series of cuff assemblies in a cutter to shape the corners of the cuffs, and second to perform the skilled job of stitching the ends of the cuffs, including the step of guiding the cuffs through a double needle sewing and cutting machine to stitch the appropriate shape along the ends of the cuffs and cut the cuffs away from the continuous series of cuff assemblies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the present invention comprises a method and apparatus for manufacturing shirt sleeve cuffs wherein the cuff pattern parts are sewed onto a continuous length of cuff lining material with stitching extending along the length of the lining material at a first station, the pattern parts and lining material are shaped at a second station, and the cuff pattern parts are sewn at their ends to the lining material with stitching extending across the lining material while the lining material is being cut across its length at a third station. The unskilled step of the process of shaping the cuff pattern parts and the lining material, can be performed by an unskilled machine operator or by an automatically operated shaping machine. The shaping machine includes detecting means to determine the location of the ends of the cuff pattern parts on the strip, and cutting means responsive to the detecting means to make the appropriate cuts to shape the ends of the cuffs as desired. The skilled operators are therefore required to perform only the steps in the process that require a high level of skill.

The present invention also contemplates the use of mechanical locating means by which the cuffs are properly located with respect to the sewing machine to stitch the ends of the cuffs, thereby reducing the possibility of operator error in this skilled operation.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification when taken in con junction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the initial assembly of the cut pieces of the cuff on a continuous strip of lining material;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the assembled strip of FIG. 1 in conjunction with the detecting and cutting means, and with the next successive sewing step;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate sequential steps in the sewing of the ends of cuffs, the cuffs having rounded corners;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are similar to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the cuffs having mitred corners;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the use of locating means;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of apparatus to operate the locating means for cuffs having rounded corners FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the use of locating means; and,

FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view showing one embodiment of apparatus to operate the locating means for cuffs having mitred corners.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularly to the drawings and to those embodiments of the invention here chosen by way ofillustration, FIG. 1 shows a roll of cuff lining material 10 that traverses the assembly path 11. There are two stacks 12 and 14 of precut pieces of fabric or cuff panel pattern parts and a single piece or pattern part 12a is taken from the stack 12 and placed on the lining 10, then a single piece or pattern part 14a is taken from the stack 14 and placed directly on top of the piece 12a. Both pieces will have one edge aligned with one edge of the lining material 10 and their opposite edge overlying the opposite edge of the lining material. Each of the stacks 12 and 14 is properly oriented so that pattern parts 12a and 14a can be taken directly from a stack 12 or 14 and placed on the lining 10 without reorienting the pattern parts in any way.

As the lining l0 traverses the path 11, carrying with it the aligned cuff pattern parts 12a and 14a, a needle 15 sews acontinuous stitch 16 along the aligned edges of the lining 10 and pattern parts, thereby stitching the edges of the panels 12a and 14a to the lining 10. Further along the path 11, a second needle 18 sews a continuous stitch 19. The upper pattern part 14a is lifted, the overlying edge of the lower pattern part 12a is turned under the lining 10, and the stitch 19 extending along the edge of the lining material hems the lower 12a about the edge of lining 10.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1, the stacks or bunches of pattern parts 12 and 14 are received from the cutting room with their corners beveled as at 20 and 21 so that, with the stacked cuff pattern parts or panels 12a and 14a placed substantially contiguously along the lining 10, there is a V-shaped notch 24 between each pair of the pattern parts 12a and 14a. The purpose of this notch 24 will be discussed later.

After the stitching of the pattern parts 12a and 14a along the lining 10 has been formed, the partially completed cuff assemblies are conveyed to the next step. Though it is possible that the partially completed cuff assemblies could be fed directly to the next station, the

embodiment here chosen by way of illustration includes the forming of a roll 25 of the assembled material, and this roll 25 is then conveyed to the next station.

The next station is shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings where it will be seen that the roll 25 is unrolled so that the assembled material is inverted from the position shown in FIG. 1. As the assembled material is removed from the roll 25 it traverses the assembly path here designated as 11A.

Along the path 11A, there is a detecting means 26, here shown as a photoelectric cell 28 and a light source 29. The cell 28 and light source 29 are arranged so that the beam of light from the light source 29 scans the edge of the assembled material formed by the overhanging edges of the cuff pattern parts 14a. Thus, the beam of light from the light source 29 will be blocked by the pattern parts 14a until one of the notches 24 passes across the light beam; then, light will pass through the notch 24 and impinge on the cell 28 to activate the cell 28.

It will be readily understood that a space could be left between the successive pattern parts 14a so that the detecting means could detect the spaces rather than having the provision of the notches 14; however, it is desirable to place the pattern parts 14a as close together as practical to conserve the lining material 10. In view of this, the notches 24 are provided for the detecting means to determine the ends of the individual cuff assemblies.

In conjunction with the detecting means 26 there is a cutting means 30. The cutting means 30 is a cuff corner cutter in that the cutter 30 is activated to cut precisely between the cuff assemblies to shape the corners into the configuration desired. Thus, the detecting means 26 detects the line between two cuff assemblies and causes the cutter 30 to cut on the line between two cuff assemblies. The apex 31 of the cutter 30 will be precisely aligned with the line between cuff assemblies, and the two blades 32 and 34 will shape the corners of the two cuff assemblies that are contiguous with that line.

It will be obvious that the shape of the blades 32 and 34 can be changed to provide the desired shape of the corners of the cuffs without modifying any other portion of the apparatus shown. Also, the cutter 30 is here shown as being spaced down the path 11A by one cuff length from detecting means 26, but, the cutter 30 could be placed directly across from the detecting means or at any convenient location in increments of cuff lengths. The important consideration is that a line between two cuff assemblies will be at the apex 31 of the cutter 30 when the cutter 30 receives the signal from the detecting means 26.

After each cuff assembly passes the cutter 30, it will be seen that the cuff assemblies have their two longitudinal edges properly stitched, and their corners properly shaped. The cuff assemblies are therefore ready to be cut apart and have their ends stitched. This step is performed by a machine having two needles 40 and 41, and a cutting means 42 to cut between the stitching formed by the needles 40 and 41. The line of cutting is here indicated at 44, and it will be seen that the needles 40 and 41 only slightly lead the cutting means 42.

In stitching the ends of the cuff assemblies, the operator will fold the overhanging edges of the pattern parts 14a over the lining as indicated in FIG. 2. After this,

the stitching of the ends of the cuff assemblies is a simple matter of straight stitching until the needles reach the shaped corners 45 of the cuffs, and at that point there is a degree of skill required in that the operator must accurately follow the shape of the corners.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 of the drawings illustrate the process involved in the stitching of the ends of cuffs having rounded corners 45. When the needles 40 and 41 reach the point of tangency between the rounded corner 45 and the straight end 48, the two adjacent cuffs 49 and 50 are gradually rotated as shown in FIG. 4. The needles 40 and 41 continue to sew as the cuff assemblies 49 and 50 are rotated so that the needles 40 and 41 sew a quarter-circle to complete the corners 46. When the cuff assemblies 49 and 50 reach the position shown in FIG. 5, it will be understood that the cut 44 has extended entirely through the lining material 10 and has intersected the cut made by the cutter 30 so that the cuff assembly 50 can be separated from the cuff assembly 49, and the stitches formed by the needles 40 and 41 have intersected the stitches 16, so the ends of the cuff assemblies are completely stitched. In this process, it will be understood that the cuff assemblies 49 and 50 must be rotated about the center of the radius of the corners 46.

Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the process of stitching the ends of cuff assemblies and 61 is shown, these cuff assemblies having mitred corners 62. In this style of cuff, it will be seen that the stitches 64 and 65 formed by the needles 40 and 41 respectively will be straight and parallel to the cut 44 between the cuffs 60 and 61. When the needles 40 and 41 reach intersection 66 of the mitred corners 62, the two cuff assemblies 60 and 61 must be rotated about the needles 40 and 41 respectively as axes until the corners 62 abut each other as shown in FIG. 7. The stitches 64 and 65 will then be extended until they intersect the stitches l6, and the cuff assembly 61 can be separated from the cuff assembly 60.

With the above processes in mind, attention is directed to FIG. 9 of the drawings which illustrates an example of means for providing the necessary rotation of the cuff assemblies 49 and 50 in order to stitch the corners 46. Since the cuff assemblies 49 and 50 must be rotated about the center of the arcs that comprise the corners 46, rotatable grippers 70 and 71 are placed against the cuffs 49 and 50 with the axes of the grippers 70 and 71 located at the centers of the arcs of corners 46.

While other forms of apparatus could be utilized to provide the necessary rotation of the grippers 70 and 71 since the primary object is to provide means for rotating the cuff assemblies in timed relationship with the feed mechanism of the sewing machine, one form of apparatus to accomplish the rotation is shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings where it will be seen that a gripper 70 is carried by a vertically disposed shaft 72 journaled for rotation in an arm 74. The arm 74 has a vertical portion 75 that passes through the sewing table 76 and connects to the piston rod 78 of a fluid operated cylinder 79. Operation of the cylinder 79 will therefore project and retract the piston rod 78 to raise and lower the arm 74. When the arm 74 is raised, the gripper 70 will be out of contact with the sewing table 76 and sewing will proceed in a usual fashion; when the arm 74 is lowered, the gripper 70 will contact a piece of fabric, such as a cuff assembly 49, on the sewing table 76.

To cause rotation of the gripper 70, a one-way clutch 80 is placed on the feeder drive shaft 81 of the machine. This shaft, conventionally, oscillates; so, use of the one-way clutch 80 will convert the oscillatory motion into periodic rotatory motion. As here illustrated, the clutch 80 is formed with a pulley in its periphery, and a timing belt 82 is trained over this pulley, and over a pulley 84 which is carried by the portion 75 of the arm 74. The pulley 84 is a double pulley so that a second timing belt 85 is trained over the pulley 84 and drives a pulley 88, the pulley 88 also being a double pulley. The pulley 88 has a belt 89 on its second part, and the belt 89 drives a pulley 90 which is attached to a bevel gear 91. The bevel gear 91 drives a complementary gear 92 which is carried by the upper end of the shaft 72.

It will therefore be seen that the feeder drive shaft 81 drives both the conventional feeder, and the gripper 70 so that the two will be synchronized. Proper selection of the pulleys will provide the precise speed relationship required.

Considering now the process described in connection with FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, attention is directed to FIG. 11 of the drawings where an example of an automatic loeating means is shown in conjunction with cuff assemblies 60 and 61 having mitred corners 62. As was previously discussed, the cuff assemblies 60 and 61 must be rotated about the needles 40 and 41 when it is time to stitch along the mitred corners 62. Since a gripper such as the gripper 70 cannot be placed to coincide with the needles, the simple expedient of grippers 70' and 71' is used, the grippers 70' and 71' being urged against the cuffs 60 and 61 and moved in an are having its center at the needles 40 and 41 respectively. In the embodiment here chosen by way ofillustration, the mitred corners 62 intersect at an angle of 90, so the are through which each cuff assembly 60 and 61 must be moved will be 45. The corners 62 will then be parallel and abutting as shown in FIG. 7, and the corners 62 can be stitched.

One possible apparatus to provide the desired motion of the grippers 70 and 71' is shown in FIG. 12 of the drawings. The arm 74' would be arranged similarly to the arm 74 for vertical motion. The gripper 70 is carried by a shaft 72, the shaft 72' extending through a cam way 100 in the end of the arm 74'. Because the gripper 70 must move in strict conformity with the cam way 100 rather than being freely rotatable, the shaft 72' extends through the cam way 100 and has a return bend so that the end 101 of the shaft 72' engages the cam way 100. Thus as the shaft 72' traverses the cam way 100, the gripper 70' will move in precise conformity with the cam way 100. To cause the shaft 72 to traverse the cam way 100, a fluid actuated cylinder 102 is mounted on the arm 74' with its piston rod 104 connected to the shaft 72'. As the piston rod 104 is projected, the shaft 72 will traverse the cam way 100 to cause the 45 rotation required. From the above description, the operation should now be apparent to those skilled in the art.

OPERATION The pattern parts for the cuff are cut by the usual procedure, but with the corners and 21 beveled so that, when the pieces 12a and 14a are placed on the continuous strip of lining material 10, there will be a notch 24 formed designating the ends of the cuffs. The

pieces 12a and 14a are stitched to the lining material 10; then, the assembled material is inverted and passed along the assembly path 11A so that the edge of the material containing the notches 24 is scanned by the detecting means 26. When the detecting means 26 determines the presence of the end of a cuff by means of the notch 24, the cutting means 30 is actuated to shape the corners of the two contiguous cuffs.

Next, two contiguous cuffs are positioned so that the two needles 40 and 41 will stitch the ends of the contiguous cuffs along a straight line while the cutting means 42 severs the line between the cuffs. When the stitching by the needles 40 and 41 reaches the shaped corner 45, the locating means would be caused to engage the cuffs.

In the case of cuffs 49 and 50 having rounded corners 46, the grippers 70 and 71 would engage the cuffs 49 and 50; then, the sewing machine would be operated causing the needles 40 and 41 to sew while the grippers 70 and 71 rotate the cuffs 49 and 50 so that the cuffs are always properly located with respect to the needles 40 and 41.

For cuffs and 61 having mitred corners 62, the needles 40 and 41 would be stopped while the needles are penetrating the cuffs 60 and 61. On the conventional sewing machine, this would mean that the feed ers are disengaged from the fabric. Then the grippers and 71 would be engaged with the cuffs 60 and 61, and the grippers would be moved along the cam way to rotate the cuffs so the cuffs 60 and 61 will be properly located with respect to the needles 40 and 41. The grippers 70' and 71' would then be disengaged from the fabric and the final stitching of the corners 62 could be done. At this point, the cuff 60 or 61 is completed and is ready to be inverted and sewn to a shirt or the like.

It will, of course, be understood that the embodiments of the invention here shown are by way of illustration only, and are meant to be in no way restrictive; therefore, numerous changes and modifications may be made, and the full use of equivalents resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for forming shirt sleeve cuffs or the like comprising means for connecting pairs of cuff panels to a continuous supply of lining material, means for cutting away the cornersof adjacent ones of the pairs of cuff panels and the adjacent lining material, means for simultaneously sewing the ends of the cuff panels to the lining material and cutting across the lining material between the adjacent pairs of cuff panels, and means for turning the cuff panels as the cuff panels are being sewed along their ends whereby stitching is formed adjacent the edges of the cuff panels where the corners were cut away.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein the means for cutting away the corners of adjacent pairs of cuff panels includes detecting means for detecting the pairs of cuff panels as the cuff panels move along a path adjacent the detecting means, and cutting means for cutting away the corners of the cuff panels in response to the detection by said detecting means of a pair of cuff panels on the path.

3. A process of forming shirt sleeve cuffs or the like comprising:

moving a continuous length of lining material along its length through a first predetermined path,

sewing two plies of cuff panel material in stacked overlying relationship to the continuous length of cuff lining material along one mutual aligned side edge of the lining material and the two plies of cuff panel material at a first position along the first predetermined path in an arrangement where notches are formed at equal intervals along the length of the two plies of cuff panel material of the sewn together structure,

folding over and sewing the overlying opposite side edge of one ply of cuff panel material about the opposite side edge of the lining material at a second position along the first predetermined path,

moving the sewn together structure along its length position along the second predetermined path. =l l 

1. Apparatus for forming shirt sleeve cuffs or the like comprising means for connecting pairs of cuff panels to a continuous supply of lining material, means for cutting away the corners of adjacent ones of the pairs of cuff panels and the adjacent lining material, means for simultaneously sewing the ends of the cuff panels to the lining material and cutting across the lining material between the adjacent pairs of cuff panels, and means for turning the cuff panels as the cuff panels are being sewed along their ends whereby stitching is formed adjacent the edges of the cuff panels where the corners were cut away.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein the means for cutting away the corners of adjacent pairs of cuff panels includes detecting means for detecting the pairs of cuff panels as the cuff panels move along a path adjacent the detecting means, and cutting means for cutting away the corners of the cuff panels in response to the detection by said detecting means of a pair of cuff panels on the path.
 3. A process of forming shirt sleeve cuffs or the like comprising: moving a continuous length of lining material along its length through a first predetermined path, sewing two plies of cuff panel material in stacked overlying relationship to the continuous length of cuff lining material along one mutual aligned side edge of the lining material and the two plies of cuff panel material at a first position along the first predetermined path in an arrangement where notches are formed at equal intervals along the length of the two plies of cuff panel material of the sewn together structure, folding over and sewing the overlying opposite side edge of one ply of cuff panel material about the opposite side edge of the lining material at a second position along the first predetermined path, moving the sewn together structure along its length through a second predetermined path, detecting the notches formed in the sewn together structure as the sewn together structure moves along the second predetermined path, cutting into the sewn together mutual side edges of the cuff panel material with a generally V-shaped cut in response to the detection of the movement of the notches of the sewn together structure at a first position along the second predetermined path, and simultaneously sewing across the sewn together structure and cutting across the sewn together structure at a second position along the second predetermined path which is displaced from the first position along the second predetermined path. 